Gh/Kh question regarding snails

[jehenry89]

My snails shells have been growing in horribly. When I bought them, the girl at my LFS said that because our tap water is really hard, I shouldn't have any issues. I went out earlier today and purchased a kit because of their bad appearance. My Gh in my tank is 12(214ppm), tap is 11(196ppm). My Kh in my tank is 7(125ppm), my tap is 8(143ppm). Are these numbers ok for snails? I honestly never really worried about testing for these two things because the fish that I keep are not sensitive so these numbers look like pure gibberish to me. If these numbers are fine, what else could be causing this?

A little history, when I first got them, I was feeding them summer squash and cucumbers. About three weeks later, I switched to butternut squash because of the higher calcium content. At the same time, I tryed kale but they wouldn't eat it. Last night was the first time I tryed spinach and they totally devoured it. I feed them 4 nights a week (I travel for work and am not home the other three days). They are all very active and don't appear to be "sick".

I guess I should add, my Ph is about 6.7. Ammonia is 0ppm, Nitrite is 0ppm, Nitrate is 30ppm, Phosphate is 3ppm.

Thanks in advance.

 

[fort384]

Your KH/GH are fine, and aren't the cause of any stunting, if there is any. Snails don't grow extremely fast. What kind of snails are they, and how long have you had them?

 

[jehenry89]

They are mystery snails and I have had them for about 2 months now or so. Either their shell is chipping or this is new growth and it is thinner. Either way, it doesn't look healthy. This is the best picture I can get atm, only have the camera on my phone. They also have a brown discoloring to them.

 

[wildroseofky]

Your PH is too low. Mystery snails need a PH of at least 7. Higher if the fish can tolerate it. Under that PH level the shells can pit and wear away. Add some crushed coral, egg shell, cuttlefish bone, or limestone to get the PH up. You can also feed your snails human calcium supplements, antacid tablets like Tum's, egg shells, or greens that are high in calcium. You are feeding them enough but the calcium is important. Mine love the fruit flavored antacid tablets. Fish and shrimp will eat them too.

 

[jehenry89]

Your PH is too low. Mystery snails need a PH of at least 7. Higher if the fish can tolerate it. Under that PH level the shells can pit and wear away. Add some crushed coral, egg shell, cuttlefish bone, or limestone to get the PH up. You can also feed your snails human calcium supplements, antacid tablets like Tum's, egg shells, or greens that are high in calcium. You are feeding them enough but the calcium is important. Mine love the fruit flavored antacid tablets. Fish and shrimp will eat them too.

Ya, I lowered the Co2 earlier but I didn't retest the ph. I originally lowered it because I was having algae issues but I will see what happens with it a little higher. I actually do have a piece of cuttlebone in my substrate already. I read online somewhere earlier to try the supplements and I dropped one 600mg in about 3 hours ago, but it really just dissolved. Dumb question, but do they actually have to eat it? Is it possible for them to get enough calcium from eating veggies?
I have never tryed antacid tabs before. Before I go out and buy more stuff though, I am going to see if adding the calcium supplements does anything.

 

[wildroseofky]

The cuttlefish bone needs to be exposed to the water for it to work. If it is under the substrate it will not get into the water column and the snails cannot eat it. My snails attack the calcium pills or antacid tablets when I put them in. They do dissolve fast. The snails will figure out what it is pretty quick. They can get enough calcium through the water and food. Adding supplements is just a way to make sure they are getting enough. Spinach and dandelions are loaded with calcium and the snails seem to like it.

 

[mrvincent]

Bigger snails need a lot of calcium... so your GH should be high... My ponds and killer snails do fine in 4dGH° and 2dGH°, but my ampullar were loosing shell parts under thoses conditions...

 

[jehenry89]

The cuttlefish bone needs to be exposed to the water for it to work. If it is under the substrate it will not get into the water column and the snails cannot eat it. My snails attack the calcium pills or antacid tablets when I put them in. They do dissolve fast. The snails will figure out what it is pretty quick. They can get enough calcium through the water and food. Adding supplements is just a way to make sure they are getting enough. Spinach and dandelions are loaded with calcium and the snails seem to like it.

I tryed to give them some strawberry runs last night, they didn't seem to like it. They didn't go for it as much as I thought they would. Ithink I'm going to make some of the snail jello, seems easy to make. I'll have to take the cuttlebone out of the substrate tomorrow when I get home from work. I really didn't like looking at it so I put it just under the surface. Does anyone have any snail jello recipes that you like? Mine seem to like veggies more than anything else.